Yokohama goes Hollywood

11.2.2008 – Cairo / Dubai / Tokyo -
The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced that it has concluded a product placement agreement for the latest Hollywood film by the Wachowski brothers - Speed Racer, scheduled for release in major international markets in May 2008 and in Japan in July - known for their direction of the Matrix films.

Product placement, which is a notable advertising arrangement for the use/appearance of a product or logo in a film, TV program, etc. has recently become very popular among car companies in the automotive field.


The brothers wrote the Speed Racer script and are directing the movie. Under the agreement, Yokohama will supply YOKOHAMA tires for the technological star of the film, the car named “Mach 5,” and also carry out extensive promotional activities in some 40 countries where Yokohama has its overseas subsidiaries and affiliates, when it is released. It is not know yet which North African and Middle Eastern companies will be included in these activities.

The company looks forward to the opportunity to further enhance global recognition of the name “YOKOHAMA” through association with this film.
The Wachowski brothers and the producers chose Yokohama to be its partner, having highly evaluated it in various respects, including the image of the “YOKOHAMA” brand and its global promotional strategy, as well as the creative and aggressive tread design of the tires themselves.

The “Mach 5” fitted with YOKOHAMA tires was shown to the international media for the first time at a press conference on May 31, 2007, to announce production in Berlin.

Speed Racer is a live-action film based on the Japanese animation series “Mach Go Go Go,” popular in the U.S. when it aired there in the 1960s. The roduction team from the Matrix movies has been working on the film.

In addition to exciting young stars Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, star of the hit TV series “Lost,” and popular Korean singer and actor Rain (Ji-Hoon JUNG) will also appear. The cast includes
Hiroyuki Sanada from Japan.